J~- ~ l!1to English knopped latten

Part 1 CHRISTOPHER A. PEAL

OME uncertainty appears to exist as to what precisely is spoons, which until recently, surprisingly, did not capture the Smeant by latten. It is the old term for what is now called interest of collectors. But these spoons are most fascinating to brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, made by the calamine process. study and possess. The pioneering work by Hilton Price is The terminology is rather confusing because in the Middle Ages excellently recorded in his book 'Old Base Metal Spoons' the word 'brass' was used to include bronze, an alloy of copper (Batsford, 1908). This deals with both pewter and latten spoons and tin. In the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, latten (in fact, it is not always clear to which he is referring). It will was made in Germany and the Low Countries and imported probably come as a surprise even to connoisseurs to learn that into in sheet form where it had many uses; in Church the forms in these alloys seldom run parallel and that a number of brasses, for example. It was not made officially in England until types seem to be peculiar to one or other metal. Hilton Price had 1565, when Queen Elizabeth granted patents for its manufacture. excellent co-operation from a number of collectors and examined So far very little has been published on the subject of latten over 1,000 spoons of both alloys. The information given on

2. Progression of development, twelfth to eighteenth centuries. (a) c. U50-U50. Leaf bowl (pewter). (b) c_ 1200-1300. Round bowl (latten). (c) c. 1300- • 1350. Round bowl, diamond stern (latten). (d) c. 1300-1400. Mandoline bowl (latten). C 1150-1250 (e) c. 1400-1500. Fig bowl (pewter). (f) c. 1500-1550. Fig bowl (pewter). (g) c. 1550-1590. Fig bowl (latten). (h) c. 1580-1630. Fig bowl (latten). (i) c. 1600-1660. Round bowl (latten).

I. Examples of knops not recorded in Hilton Price's 'Base Metal Spoons'. (a) A Rocket knopped latten of c. 1400. (b) A type known in silver, but apparently unique in pewter-Lion guardant, fifteenth C 1200-1300 C 1300-1350 century. ~""--""' "

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P 25~ -15 r 254 3. (a) Typical form of '. ','.. . ,' fourteenth-century .:,' , I ' ..... spoon. . : :;'. ' (b) Knop of Tower i . and Steeple in accom­ panying spoon. ', ".'

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4. Round bowl spoon of thirteenth century, .' showing crude cut .,r.. and filed knop, and maker's mark (read with bowl upwards) of crowned fleur-de- lis.

their manufacture in favour of their own metal and work marks is not very far from complete, even now after 60 years, (pewter spoons reigned unchallenged at this time). These two which is a remarkable tribute to his pioneer work. Although main groups again each subdivide clearly into two more sections: comparatively few unrecorded maker's marks ha ve turned up since I (a). Leaf and Round bowls, twelfth century, c. 1350. publication, several types ofknop (No. I), particularly in pewter, I (b). Fig bowls, c. 1350-c. 1400. have come to light (literally, for all these base metal spoons have 2 (a). Pear shaped bowls, gradually becoming round, come from old drains, wells, rivers and accidental excavations). c. 1560-c. 1670. The latter has interested me as a pewter collector and I have 2 (b). Trifids and flattened handles, c. 1660-c. 1710. constantly drawn on Hilton Price's work and experience while The dates are very approximate, and it is impossible to lay collecting, in carrying out research at the British Museum and down accurately a chronological sequence of types because many elsewhere. I have also had the co-operation of the few collectors types of spoon, and knop, run concurrently. Some in fact known to him, particularly Mr. J. A. Douglas and Mr. R. blanket others (No. 2). Warner. The earliest bowls (Group I (a) ) in both latten and pewter are Many facts which are essential to the appreciation of early leaf shaped-that is, with a distinct pointed tongue-and belong spoons can only be absorbed by a study of silver. This obvious to the twelfth-thirteenth centuries. The point soon retreats, as source of information deserves more attention than it appears to can be seen in transitional spoons, and by the early fourteenth have received. I have made frequent reference to Commander century the bowl is in the same plane as the flat stem, which is of G. E. P. How's admirable work 'English and Scottish Silver thickness and tapers, in plan view, to a very insignificant which gives most useful comparisons, illustrations and uniform Spoons', knops have been rather weakly dubbed Cones silver hallmarks were commenced in knop. These early dating evidence. of the stem near the bowl usually bears a of silver spoon produced in London and Finials. The front 1478, therefore all types appear to have been cut out This date, of course, may be maker's touch. Spoons in this Group thereafter are dateable year by year. Between Groups type. While not pre­ ofJatten in sheet form, beaten and filed to shape. anywhere within the span of a specific with squat 1 (a) and I (b) one or two transitional spoons exist suming to disagree with Commander How regarding silver, not elliptical bowls. all his opinions are necessarily valid for their base metal counter­ Spoons in Group 1 (b) are completely different in conception parts: e.g. that the diamond shaped stem was exclusively and manufacture. They have small fig- or mandoline-shaped Continental, for some pewter specimens appear to show bowls and long, thin stems of diamond section. These are of the otherwise. fourteenth century and seldom bear marks. The bowls are It is not generally realised that latten spoons found in England smaller and the knops, though similar to those in Group I (a), are fall cleanly into two main period groupsl: (1) pre c. 1400 and much better formed. There appear to be three types of knop: (2) c. 1560 to C. 1710. None appear between these two periods, Leaf Bud, Tower and Steeple, and Rocket (the writer's own perhaps because the Pewterers Company succeeded in suppressing

255 5. (a) Perhaps the first type in the reappearance ofIatten spoons-now known to be made in this country-Simple Seal, c. 1570. (b) Lion Sejant, c. 1580. (c) Writhen Ball, c. 1580. (d) Simple Seal, c. 1570. (e) Acorn (overcleaned), sixteenth century.

descriptive tenninology). Unlike spoons in Group 1 (a), examples Just after the mid-sixteenth century, a spate of undoubtedly in this Group were moulded (No. 3). English latten spoons appears, the origin of which is referred to Some doubt exists as to whether spoons in the above two below. Group 2 (a), with big pear-shaped bowls, appeared about categories were made in England. Commander How considered 1560, and in the next few years the knops made were: Lion all twelfth- and thirteenth-centu:ry silver spooris to be Con­ Sejimt, Writhen Ball, Simple Seal, Acorn and the knopless tinental. The maker's marks on the round bowllatten spoons of Slip Top (No. 5). Stems were heavy and hexagonal, becoming Group 1 (a) provide a clue to provenance. Although there are no fl atter towards the end of the century. Bowls became more records to identify exactly who the makers were, all the marks rounded, always with marks, some of which are of known have a Continental flavour. For example, one maker's mark is a pewterers. There are also many other minor details in the devel­ crowned fleur-de-lys which, at this date, would seem to indicate opment of the bowl and stem which are good guides to dating. French origin (No. 4). This, coupled with the fact that two latten In the seventeenth century these trends continued, with the spoons of similar form in the author's collection, have come from stem becoming greatly flattened and rounded at the edges. The the ground in London and Rome, seems to point solely to bowl became almost circular and joined the stem with a wide Continental manufacture. However, sheet latten having been sweep and drop, resulting in the rim of the bowl being below imported into England, it is conceivable that spoons could have the line of the stem (unlike Group 1 (a) ). The knop types at this figured amongst the items manufactured from it; and while time are Gauntlet Seal, Apostles, Horse Hoof, Lion Sej ant, doing so why should not the satisfactory Continental style of a Strawberry (these were certainly made in or after 1659, since some diamond section stem have been adopted? specimens bear a dated touch of that year) and Slip Top (No. 6). Before studying Group 2 (spoons made after c. 1560), the These continued until c. 1670 but the knops of the late Seals and evolution of pewter spoons in the intervening period should be Apostles are of poor definition. The fascinating Apostles will be noted. Those made in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries dealt with more fully in the second part of this article. In addition developed plumper and more pear-shaped bowls, and the there are some very rare types, of which there are only one or diamond stems, having been tapped on top and bottom for two known examples, such as Stag's Head, Globe, and Man's greater strength, had a narrow-topped hexagonal section. In the Head. From very roughly c. 1625, it appears to have been the latter part of the fifteenth century, the steIn became much invariable custom to plate latten spoons with a tin deposit. Most heavier and was hammered to a true hexagonal shape. The knops specimens of the seventeenth century have at least traces of also grew in size and variety. plating, often almost completely worn away. The plating may 6. Examples of seventeenth-century knops. (a) Gauntlet Seal-(1600-1680). (b) Apostle-no emblem. Posture suggests St. Philip. First half seventeenth century. (c) Strawberry knop-Iate seventeenth centurv (bears 1659 in touch). .

7. Progression of Trifid to modern design handle, c. 1660-c. 1710.

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towering baluster. This was probably to copy the fashion for gil' have been done for hygienic reasons, or to simulate silver or knops on si lver spoons w hich were made from the fourteentl pewter. I know of no plated pewter spoons. century onwards. Further hammering of the already flattened stem, and the The development of latten spoons has now been traced. In th e incision of two nicks at the top of Slip Tops, heralded the start second part of this article (to be published in a future iss lle) th, of the Trifids: Group 2 (b). The earliest known in silver is background of latten spoonmakers will be dealt with. Apostle dateable as of r662. The Trifid development is best conveyed types and identification \vill also be elaborated. pictorially (No. 7). Some types overlap, and styles developed so a misleading factor in NOTES quickly that provenance is probably certainl y do f.1 1 Since writing this article, the author has acquired tWO which Also, and foreshadowing a theme referred to later, . . dating them. between these t\\'o periods. made the ball. as well as t\\'IStln, it should be noted that three or four makers at this time O ne is a Writhen Ball, w ith deep grooves around SIde eleva ti on JI It bears no mark, has a d iamond section stem, and the bowl and both latten and pewter spoons. ype to the pewt, transitional between Nos. 2 (d) and (c). It is exactl y simibr in t occasionally one tinds latten dated c. q~ 5· A further interesting point is that spoons of tile early half of the fifteenth ce ntury, and could b e . The stelll m belonging to the sixteenth century and The other is an Acorn, the cup of w hich is w ritllen. not doned knops Oil pewter spoo hexagonal t! 1.l e more fl anened on top than beneath, but is more safely called e in my own collection t wo eX:llupIcs w ith minut Nos. 1 (, earlier. I hav pentagonal. The bowl and side elevation of this spoon toO, arc between century and the o ther a 50 : [mials: one a crown of the fourteenth and (c) . This also is a very slender spoon. and can be dated (. 1+ urs w hen lllakIng pioneeri!: cog, or miniature crown, of the fifteenth century. Another in (Such contradictory evidence invariably occ m y possession is o f sixteenth-century date and bears a fine S[a [ enH~I1( S !) Ja~~ I~ro English knopped latten spoons

Part 2 CHRISTOPHER A. PEAL

N the first part of this article on latten spoons (The Connoissellr, "Bras" or latten or any other yellow metal'. This ruling Was I April) the types, periods and development were discussed. The repeated aga.in in 1586. It can be ~resumed that they partially reappearance of latten spoons in the mid-sixteenth century will succeeded, Slllce only five makers marks are known which here be dealt with in greater detail. appear on both pewter and latten spoons : Jolm God (1570 + ); The early and middle types ofknop in silver and pewter-e.g. 'W', early seventeenth century; 'w. S.' (1670 +); Daniel Barton Diamond Point, and Maidenhead knops, and many others-do (1670 + ); and Gabriel Grunwin (Nos. 8 a, b, c and d). It will be not appear in latten, but latten spoons do reappear with the forms seen that only one is of the sixteenth century. of the late sixteenth century. In the minutes of the Court of the Jolm God's mark appears on pewter spoons with Acorn, Pewterers Company for September, 1567, it is reported ' .. . Hexagon, Horse Hoof, Seal and Slip Tops, and on latten spoons latten spoons lately invented by Jolm God .. .' Jolm God with Acorn, Seal and Slip Tops. (There is also a Monk's Head ill certainly had not invented latten but he may well have been the silver, bearing the same mark, but this is not very significant to fmt member of the Pewterers Company to use it; and we know this article as it was usual for members to present to the Company that in 1565 Queen Elizabeth I granted patents for its manufacture a silver spoon bearing their mark on being clothed with the in England. In 1568 all the latten patentees bonded themselves Livery.) The 'IG' mark (No. 9 e, f, g and h) appears in two forms together into 'The Society for the Mineral & Battery Works'. on latten and in two forms on pewter. But the marks :I re so Presumably 'Mineral & Battery' included mining, and making similar in form that we can presume that they are all those of cannon; and no doubt the latter accounting for the greater Jolm God. All spoons bearing the marks are compatible with proportion of their output. However, the Pewterers Company manufacture in the sixteenth century. There is onc unpleasant was already active in suppressing the manufacture of latten suspicion: that since John God and the whole Company had been spoons by members of its company, and in 1567 'it was agreed forbidden to make latten spoons, someone else may have been by the whole Company that there should be no spoons made of forging his mark. In another extract from the Pe,yterers Court Minutes of 1567,Jolm God admitted to making only three dozen spoons, and he was forbidden to make any more; as indeed was the whole Company. There are several latten spoons existing today bearing his presumed touches, many m.ore than the chances of survival and discovery would allow, assuming that he did make only three dozen. So either the touch is not his, or someone copied his mark to lay a false trail. Most likely he made many 1nore spoons before or after 1567. Nearly all the marks on the mid to latter seventeenth-century a b latten spoons have a pronounced family likeness and are unlike those found on pewter at this period. They arc much larger and usually bear, in addition to two initials, two or three spoons (like squash rackets) displayed parallel to each other (Nos. 10 i and j and Nos. II a and b). When spoons are depicted in pewter touches, they are displayed crossed. One wonders why, at a time when the Pewterers Company was so actively suppressing the manufacture of latten spoons, the makers, if they were n1.embers of the Company, advertised their identity on their spoons. It could be assumed that in the seventeenth century the latten spoon makers were in the main not pewterers but a separate band of craftsmen-perhaps working under 'The Society for the Mineral and Battery Works', or its successors? However, so far nO c d evidence or records have come to light to elucidate under ,yhat aegis these latten spoon makers worked, apart from the flvc pewterers' touches appearing on latten spoons. A very significant fact is that in the seventeenth century, when pe\ycer was in its 8. Four of the five only known English marks common to both latten and heyday, pewter spoons were ousted by latten, judging by the pewter: (a) 'w' early seventeenth century; (b) 'W.S.', 1670+; (c) Daniel quantities of those which have survived. This is perhaps not Barton, 1670 +; (d) Gabricl Grunwin, late seventeenth century. surprising, since latten stems arc so much stronger than pewter. appearing on 9. The cause of much confusion:John God. (e) Recorded as rh ) Recorded boch latten and pewter; (f) and (g) Recorded onpewcer only; on lacten only.

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spoon-nukers' marks. (i) Pewter 10. C')mparison of pewter and latten ./ parallel, spoon-maker-spoons crossed; (j) Lanen spoon-maker-spoons .Il'·· sometimes t\vo, on other cxanlples, three.

'Double Whited' Ir. (a) and (b) Comparison of 'E.H.' (pewter) and Gatten). a b c d e

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k ID 11 ' o 12 (a) to (0) Examples of Latten Apostle spoons: (a) Christ (Benediction); St. Jude (Staff or Club); (e) (b) St. John (? Cup); (c) ?St. St. Andrew (Short Cross); (f) John (? Cup); (d) ?St. James (posture); St. Bartholomew (Flaying Knife); the Greater, or (i) St. Matthew (Carpenter's (g) St. Bartholomew (rear Square); (j) St. James the Greater, view); (h) ?St. James the Greater St. Philip; (I) St. James St. Thomas, St. Matthias, or the Greater, St. Simon Zelotes St. Jude ; (k) St. Matthias, St. or St , or St. Matthias; (m) St. Matthew BartholomeW or . Matthias. or St. Matthias; (n) St. Matthew; (0) St. Matthew, St. Paul. J p. as ; ~e Spoons did not \\"arrant such superb moulds as those used to give the A~o sde knops appear in si lver as early as the fourteenth century, free-standing emblems 0 11 si lver spoons, :md so the emblems but in pewter they are of sixteenth-century form and rare. All were probably almos t always cast in \vith the body of the . c~a!11ples in btten appear to be.of the seventeenth century, an~ The knops arc now often diffic ult to identify because they have his writer knows of none bearmg the Illmbus. The l11mbus IS become worn by corrosion, wear or over-cleaning in recent [arc in silver and even rarer in pewter. years to the degree of vandalism. The author has found it most r While we assume tI' lat m generaI a spoon was a possessIon. as valuable to compare doubtful knops with the latest complete set personal as a toothbrush, Apostles were surel y m ade in sets, but of silver apostles described and illustrated by Commander How­ naY 'Jossibly have been presented singly to a namesake. It is most the Lambert se t of 1626 in the collection of theWorshipful Com.­ :mlii .: ·:ly that any true sets by one maker exist today, as btten pany of Goldsmiths (No. 13) . It is immediately apparent, when spO O

13 . A complete set of thirteen silver-gilt Apostle spoons of date 1626, by Benjamin Yate(?), maker's mark BY over a gate. The WOJ"shipJlI1 Compalll' of Goldsmiths, LOlldoll.

199 different maker's marks, have identical knops. It is also a conception that the existence of a gully (No. 14) running the length of the front of the stem on late (c. I 640-c. Apostle spoons is proof of continental manufacture. This is not true. Some are Continental, but the author can show half-dozen with presumed English marks, including the Whited' (No. 15). Apostle spoons continued to be made c. 1670. In silver, after the Restoration period, they Were Ul<1(]"-'~ only provincially and of poor quality. Certainly in latten Apostle and Seal knops are of very poor defmition when of date. In reference to No. 13, it will be helpful to list the ~ULU";;ms t~,,. carried by Apostle spoons. Most existing silver sets have Matthias substituted for St. Jude, and usually another omitted in favour of St. Paul. The others are as follows: Master (Orb, and Cross and Benediction), St. Peter (Key, times a Fish), St. John (a Cup), St. James the Greater Staff, sometimes a Hat as well-often like a tin hat on shoulders. A Wa.llet may appear worn low on hi~ left side), St. Andrew (Saltlre Cross), St. Bartholomew (Flaymg Knife) St. (Fuller's Bat), St. Matthias (Pole Axe), St. Paui (a Sword), St. Thomas (a Spear or a Girdle), St. Jude (a Long ' . Cross), St. Simon Zelotes (a Saw), St. Matthew (a Carpenter's Square), St. Philip (a Short Cross, or Three Loaves). As will be appreciated, the nature of many of these emblems are often difficult precisely to identify, especially when they are worn or broken off. The latter can be clearly seen in the illus- . trations here presented. Those interested in latten spoons may now feel that the hundred years (1570 to 1670) of spoons-with Lion Sejant, - Acorn, Writhen Ball, Seal, Horse Hoof, Slip Top, Gauntlet Seal, Strawberry, and Apostles-represent the most interesting period. Others may prefer to trace the evolution through the transitional to the early modern spoon shown in the Trifids, which are probably more easily acquired. The pewter spoon collector, who may have been trying to find analogies, may feel thwarted from what has been written; for although the late sixteenth and early seventeenth-century periods overlap lattens with mostly late Maidenheads and Slip Tops, the main interest period-of c. 1400 to c. 1570-is missing in lattens. Space limitations allow only generalisations and the keen student will want to delve deeper by physical inspection of specimens and by discussing the subject. As knowledge of the subject is far from complete, the author will be grateful to hear the comments of interested readers.

14. An Apostle spoon carrying an English mark and showing the gulley IS. Example of English 'Double running down the stem. Whited' mark on a spoon with gulley down the stem.

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